She highlighted Launceston's events calendar with the likes of Festivale that caters for her, husband Adam and even 21-month-old daughter Anouk.

Employment has even taken on a family feel with Mrs Vos and her mother both working together at the Launceston City Council.

Mr Vos, whose grandfather built the Swiss-styled village Grindelwald, said it was great to live close to the coast.

``Most people have a boat and go fishing, there's lots of parks around . . . there's plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables around which is pretty high on the priority list for families,'' Mr Vos said.

Launceston was ranked first in Suncorp's inaugural Family Friendly City Index released yesterday.

The report, which ranked Hobart seventh and Burnie 11th, has been a coup for the Launceston City Council.

``There are not many cities in Australia where you head five minutes out of the CBD to relax in a place like the Cataract Gorge,'' Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said after greeting the nation's earlybirds on breakfast television.

And the feeling among some is that things are only going to get better.

The National Broadband Network was expected to boost the city's family-friendly stocks with more opportunities to work remotely from home, the Launceston Chamber of Commerce said.